For the past fourteen years, we have offered
an annual visit to the prestigious Salzburg Easter Festival
encompassing the complete four-performance cycle of opera
and concerts by the Berlin Philharmonic – three of which
will be conducted this spring by Music Director Sir Simon
Rattle. The opera in Salzburg will be the soaring final segment
of Salzburg’s new RING CYCLE – Wagner’s
Die Götterdämmerung. The thrilling cast of Wagnerians
is headed by Katarina Dalayman as Brünnhilde and Ben
Heppner as Siegfried. Sung in German with English titles.
Maestro
Rattle will conduct the opera as well as two concerts with
the peerless Berlin Philharmonic. First will be Bach’s
inspirational St. Matthew Passion – among a handful
of the supreme works ever created – with an international
cast of soloists and Berlin’s Rundfunk Choir. Second
will be an orchestral program featuring Hector Berlioz’
ground-breaking Symphonie Fantastique.
A
third concert by the Berlin Philharmonic will be led by the
Latvian conductor Mariss Jansons, who will be in charge of
the towering Verdi Requiem. The quartet of opera stars for
Verdi’s soaring solo and ensemble passages will include
Krassimira Stoyanova, Marina Prudenskaja, Jonas Kaufmann and
Stephen Milling.
The
Easter Festival is usually highlighted by one major choral
concert. This year’s extraordinary program includes
both Bach’s St. Matthew Passion and the Verdi Requiem.
Both concerts will be in the Large Festival Hall.
Because
the long Wagner performance begins at 5:00 pm on the first
night of the four-cycle schedule, we have expanded our Salzburg
visit with two additional earlier nights to comprise a leisurely
six nights at the Pitter Hotel – a traditional Salzburg
landmark centrally located adjacent to the Mirabel Gardens.
We are also delighted to find that the intimate Landestheater
will present Carl Maria von Weber’s opera Der Freischütz
on our first evening, which will be a welcome addition of
pivotal German romanticism to our program. This Tour is highly
recommended for those who have never experienced the refined
ambience and the exceptional musical standards of Salzburg’s
Easter Festival.
Wednesday,
March 24th, departure from New York’s Kennedy Airport
at 5:00 pm on Lufthansa flight #401, arriving in Frankfurt
at 5:20 am on the morning of the 25th. This connects with
Lufthansa flight #6424, departing Frankfurt at 8:35 am and
arriving in Salzburg at 9:40 am. Or independent travel to
Salzburg.
